


Tale of a Tail

by Araloth



Series: Jethan-Werewolves of London [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-06 17:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12215352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Araloth/pseuds/Araloth
Summary: The story of how Jackson found out he could still grow a tail. A rogue Alpha comes to London and Ethan and Jackson have to deal with him.





	Tale of a Tail

            Ethan groaned and rolled out of bed. Something smelled good. The space next to him in bed was empty. Jackson must have already been up. Ethan padded slowly to the kitchen rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

            “Morning.” He said sleepily.

            “Hey.” Jackson smiled and slid a plate across the counter to Ethan. It was loaded with fresh bagels.

            “Thanks.” Ethan sat down and reached for a knife. “Did you get any-“

            Jackson was already passing him a container of cream cheese and a glass of orange juice. Ethan grinned.

            “What got you up so early?”

            Jackson shrugged. “Couldn’t get back to sleep. Figured I go for a run and grab breakfast.”

            Ethan finished spreading the cream cheese on his bagel and torn into it. He sighed happily. The bagel cart Jackson went to down the street really was the best.

            “Anything interesting happen while you were out?” Ethan asked.

            “Not really.” Jackson stood up to refill his glass. “Something had a couple tourists all riled up but-“

            A phone chimed suddenly cutting Jackson off. He fished into his pockets and pulled his out.

            “Nothing.” Jackson said checking the notifications. “Must be yours.”

            Ethan hopped up from his seat and walked back to their bedroom. Sure enough, his phone was buzzing on the nightstand. He grabbed it and came back to the table.

            Jackson sat back down opposite him, tossing his own phone down onto the table. “What was it?”

            “News alert.” Ethan sounded serious.

            Jackson frowned. “For what?”

            “I set my phone up to alert me for certain key words and stories in the area…” Ethan was reading something on his phone now, his expression grim.

            “And?” Jackson asked.

            Ethan slid his phone across the table so Jackson could see the headline. “That was a lead article in the paper this morning…”

            “Dangerous animal attack near Epping Forest…” Jackson trailed off. “You think this is wolf related?”

            “I don’t know.” Ethan shrugged. “It might be nothing…but read the last bit.”

            Jackson skimmed ahead in the article. “blah blah blah…uhh…although the victim’s wounds seemed superficial paramedics found her in a state similar to that of toxic shock.” Jackson gave Ethan a concerned look. “You’re saying she’s rejecting a bite from an Alpha?”

            “It’s pretty rare but it does happen.” Ethan sighed. “I don’t know. But there’s enough here…”

            “…you think we should look into it.” Jackson finished.

            Ethan nodded. “Turning people is serious. There are ways-things to do to make it safer, smarter…If a wolf is running around this recklessly it’s going to attract attention.”

            “And not the kind we’d want.” Jackson groaned. “How would we even go about doing something like this? Looking in to it I mean.”

            Ethan shrugged, then as if in answer Jackson’s phone began to ring. They both eyed it cautiously.

            “Who is it?” Ethan asked.

            Jackson held up the phone. “It’s not a number I recognize. You?”

            Ethan shook his head. “See if they leave a message.”

            The phone kept ringing, and ringing. Finally after maybe another minute of buzzing it stopped.

            “Anything?” Ethan asked.

            Jackson shook his head. “No voicemail.”

            No sooner had he spoken, then Ethan’s phone began ringing.

            “It’s the same number…” Ethan shared a look with Jackson. He nodded. “I’ll put it on speaker…”

            Cautiously he pressed the button to answer.

            “Hello?”

            “Yes?” Ethan asked.

            The voice on the other end sounded nervous, but also somewhat familiar. Not that familiarly was necessarily a good thing given the lives they led. “Is-is this Ethan? Or Jackson?”

            Ethan was sure he’d heard this voice before somewhere. Who? He mouthed the question silently to Jackson. Jackson shrugged.

            “We’re both here.” Ethan said slowly. “Who is this?”

            “My uh-my name’s Arthur. I work with the police…”

            Alarm bells started going off in Ethan’s head. _Why would the police be calling them?_ _Was it related to the animal attack?_ Ethan’s mind was racing. He supposed they could both have been labeled persons of interest in some of the craziness from their days in Beacon Hills, but there’d be no reason to draw a connection like that here unless-

            Jackson waved Ethan off his trail of thought, his posture relaxing with a sudden realization. “You’re Victoria’s guy aren’t you? You were her contact in the police force while she and her pack were living here.”  


            “Yes.” Arthur sounded relived. “I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me. Did either of you see the news this morning?”

            Ethan nodded. “The animal attack.”

            “Right.” Arthur sighed. “Normally I’d call Victoria about this kind of thing…but she and the others aren’t in England right now…”

            “Do you really think it’s a werewolf?” Jackson asked.

            “I’m sure of it.” Arthur declared. “Victoria showed me what the bite looks like.”

            “Any idea who might have been behind it?” Ethan asked.

            “That’s where I was hoping you could help.” Arthur said. “The clothing the victim had on her from the attack is here at the hospital still…do you think you’d be able to get a scent? Track down the wolf?”

            “We can try…” Ethan hesitated. “But hospitals kill a lot of outside smells pretty quick. I’m not sure how much we’d be able to get.”

            “I’ve done the best I can to keep them from being contained by any other smells without being able to explain why.” Arthur sighed. He sounded pretty tired. “How soon can you two get here if I send you the address?”

            Jackson was already tossing their plates into the sink. He nodded to Ethan.

            “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

***

            Less then an hour later they were at the hospital. Arthur’s name got them past the hospital security, and he met them on the floor where the woman who had been attacked was being treated.

            “How’s she doing?” Ethan asked.

            “Not good.” Arthur shook his head. “I spoke to one of the nurses-her vitals are starting to tank and she says she’s in constant pain…”

            “Is there anything we can do for?” Jackson asked quietly. Both Arthur and Jackson looked to Ethan, between the three of them he knew the most about werewolves.

            “I-“ Ethan sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know of anything that can help. I’ve never heard of anyone who was dying from the bite recovering.”

            “Then the least we can do for her is catch the wolf that did this.” Arthur grimaced.

            “You said you had her clothes from when she was attacked?” Ethan asked.

            “Yeah.” Arthur looked around them to make sure no was watching and led the two wolves into a small side room. “Just in here.”

            The clothes were all sealed in bags and sitting on a chair. Arthur gestured to them. “There you go.” He pulled out some rubber gloves. “I snagged these from one of the nurses’ stations. “You should put them on before you handle anything.”

            Ethan pulled on a pair of gloves and passed the box to Jackson.

            “Ready?” Arthur asked.

            Ethan closed his eyes and nodded, ready to focus entirely on smell. Jackson grimaced. “This feels so weird.”

            Arthur opened the bag carefully. Jackson picked up the woman’s shirt and smelled it gingerly. Perfume, deodorant, blood, dirt-the smells came pouring in. He tried to focus, there was something else to…the wolf. It was faint but Jackson could just catch it. “I think I got it.” Jackson said. “It’s pretty faint though…” He turned to Ethan and frowned.

            Ethan’s face had paled noticeably. His eyes were still closed, but Jackson saw his claws starting to emerge from his hands.

            “What is it?” Jackson asked

            Ethan could smell everything-the wolf, the terror the woman had felt when she was attacked-he growled. “I know who did this.”

***

            With the information they needed in hand, the three of them had quietly relocated to Arthur’s police car, away from any prying eyes or ears inside the hospital.

            When the last door had finally slammed shut, Arthur and Jackson both turned to Ethan anxiously.

            “Who are we looking for?”

            “His name’s Ivan. The last time I ran into him he’d just become an Alpha.” Ethan said.

            Something in Ethan’s tone caught Jackson’s attention. “And when was that exactly?”

            “While I was with the Alpha Pack.” Ethan sighed. “Ivan was obsessed with power, he wanted to join us…but Deucalion wasn’t interested in him…and made it known.”

            “Meaning what?” Jackson asked. “Not only is he running rabid on humans in London but if he sees you again he’ll probably come after you too?”

            Ethan made a pained face. “It wouldn’t surprise me…”

            “Well that’s just great.” Jackson fumed.

            “Do you know anything else about him?” Arthur asked quietly. “A last name? Where he’s from? Anything you can remember might help me narrow the search parameters. Give us a better shot at finding him.”  


            “Russian maybe?” Ethan offered skeptically. “He didn’t have much of an accent though. Blonde hair and blue eyes…I don’t remember his last name…”

            Arthur nodded and began typing the details into his computer. “Anything else?”

            Ethan paused a moment thinking. “No…sorry. It’s been awhile.”

            “This’ll still help.” Arthur snapped the computer shut again. “I’m going to head back to the station and see what I can find. Could you two split up maybe and start combing different parts of the city? You both have his scent now…”

            Ethan nodded. “Yeah.”

            “No way.” Jackson shook his head furiously. “I’m not letting you look for an Alpha who may or not be pissed at you on your own.”

            “Jackson-“

            “No.” Jackson said emphatically. “We’ll look for him together. He’s an Alpha-it’ll take the two of us to bring him down anyways-if we even can.”

            Ethan smiled. “Alright.”

            “Good.” Jackson looked quite pleased with himself. “Where did the woman live? We may as well start there.”

***

            Several hours of hunting for Ivan yielded no results. Arthur had been able to grab a still of the Alpha off a street security camera, but hadn’t found where he might be holed up. The woman, Amber- Jackson was determined to remember her name- had died. Jackson drove around another city block slowly, the windows of the car rolled down low as Ethan strained to pick up a scent.

            “Anything?” Arthur’s voice crackled over the speaker of Ethan’s phone.

            “No.”

            They had started their search in the blocks closest to Amber’s home, as Jackson had suggested and spread out from there as the day worn on. Now the sun was just beginning to set.

            “We’re running out of time.” Jackson said. “If he wants power as badly as you said he does, he’ll probably try turning someone else tonight.”

            Ethan nodded. “What part of Epping Forest was Amber found in?”

            “I’ll text you the coordinates.” Arthur paused. “You think he might go back to the same spot in the woods?”

            “Or near enough.” Ethan replied. “He felt comfortable enough there to attack in the first place-and Epping Forest is really the only place nearby where he can use the cover of an animal attack.”

            Jackson frowned. ‘That still doesn’t narrow it down very much. The forest is a pretty big area, He could grab someone from anywhere near the outskirts.”

            “If we’re there in the forest we can find him.” Ethan said. “We’ll just have to be fast.”

            “I’ll make sure I’m stationed somewhere nearby.” Arthur sounded nervous. “The last thing any of us need is someone to start talking about werewolves…”

            Ethan sighed that was certainly true. “Thank you.”

            “Thank you for doing this…” Arthur paused ominously. “Good hunting.” With a click of the phone he ended the call.

            Jackson turned the car towards Epping Forest. “We’ll need it…”

***

            Jackson paced restlessly. He and Ethan had settled into a clearing at one of the higher points in the forest. From here they would be able to smell and hear Ivan before he could sense them. At least in theory-so far nothing notable had happened.

            “Relax Jackson.” Ethan was sitting on the ground, leaning back against the trunk of a large tree. “Worrying about this isn’t going to make it any easier.”

            “I know…” Jackson sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I just hate waiting.”

            Ethan patted the ground next to him. “Sit down.”

            Jackson walked over and slid to the ground gracefully. Ethan wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “At least we have a nice night for this.”

            “Mm.” Jackson hummed noncommittally. The forest was cool, but werewolves tended to run a little hot, it felt comfortable enough. The stars were out now, peaking through the leaves of the trees around them Jackson could even see the moon, down to just a sliver in the sky. “I hate this plan.”

            Ethan was quiet for a minute. “I know.”

            “The two of us against an Alpha?”

            “If it helps he was never a very good one.” Ethan managed a small smile.

            Jackson gave a small snort of laughter. He shifted around a bit, putting his head down on Ethan’s shoulder. “You make a pretty good pillow.”

            Ethan squeezed Jackson’s shoulder gently, in what he hoped was a reassuring touch, but said nothing. The stillness of the night and the sounds of the forest around them lulled him into an almost peaceful rest. Ethan couldn’t say how much time had passed when he first heard it. He sat bolt upright, Jackson’s head falling off his shoulder. Jackson grumbled briefly, but fell silent at a hand from Ethan.

            Someone was walking into the woods, and carrying-no dragging-something with them.

            “Is it him?” Jackson asked softly, straining his own ears to pick up the sounds.

            Ethan shook his head unsure.

            A soft voice came to them on the wind. “P-please. Just let me go. I won’t say anything I swear…” The only response was a cruel, heartless laugh, that sent a chill down Ethan’s spine. He was up and running in the direction of the voices before even stopping to see if Jackson was following him. _It was him. Ivan was here._

            Ethan needn’t have worried about Jackson, he was keeping pace just a half step behind Ethan, traipsing through the underbrush as fast as he could.

            “You get the girl.” Ethan called. “I’ll take Ivan.”

            They came out into another small clearing, stationed above a large ravine. Ivan was dragging a girl who couldn’t have been much older then Ethan or Jackson, her hands and feet bound. As they broke into the clearing Ivan was already turning to face them, his eyes flashing red as he roared a challenge.

            Ethan barreled into Ivan, using the momentum of his run to catch the larger Alpha off guard. Even so, he only staggered a few steps back. It was enough though for Jackson to get to the girl. His claws made quick work of the girl’s bindings.

            “Go.” Jackson helped her to her feet. “There’s a police officer by the gate.”

            “Thank you!” The girl seemed to hesitate a moment. “What about you-“

            “We’ll be fine-GO!” Jackson shouted.

            The girl took off running. Ivan had fully recovered by that time, and pushed Ethan off of him. The two were circling each other slowly.

            “You’re one of those Alpha brats.” Ivan said recognizing Ethan. “Where’s your brother and the others?”

            _He doesn’t realize Ethan isn’t an Alpha anymore._ Jackson had a quick flash of hope. They could use that-if Ivan thought he was out gunned they might be able to drive him off. _But he’ll know if we’re lying…_ Jackson grimaced. _There has to be something…_

            “I don’t need them to stop you.” Ethan said calmly, putting on a good front for Ivan.

            Ivan scoffed. His eyes turned to Jackson. “Who’s this-some boytoy of yours?”

            Jackson snarled, drawing his fangs out to join his claws.

            “You’re going to leave London.” Ethan growled. “And you’re going to stop attacking and trying to turn humans. We’ll find out if you don’t.”

            _Smart._ Jackson took a moment to admire Ethan’s phrasing. Ethan avoided any lie Ivan might catch by saying “we”-something Ivan would hopefully take to mean the Alpha pack-but in reality only referred to Ethan and Jackson.

            Ivan snarled. “And why should I listen to you?”

            “Because you know who I’m speaking for.”

            Ivan eyed Ethan carefully. For a moment Jackson thought they might have actually pulled it off.

            “You know-“ Ivan grinned wickedly. “You never did tell me where your brother is. You two always seemed inseparable… ”

            Ethan held his ground. “I told you-“

            Ivan charged at Ethan full force. He caught him by the arms and threw him back towards the tree line, but not before Ethan clawed deep gouges into his chest. Ethan landed awkwardly and gave a small grunt of pain.

            Ivan looked down at his chest in surprise. The wounds were deep, but they were already starting to slowly heal back together. He laughed. “Looks like somebody lost his mojo.”

            Ethan roared, his eyes flashing blue now that the jig was up. “Still strong enough to handle you.” Jackson walked over to join Ethan, his eyes never leaving Ivan.

            “So-two against one huh?” Ivan laughed. “I still like those odds.”

            He surged forward. Ethan and Jackson ran to meet him. Ethan jumped over Ivan, landing behind the large Alpha and raking his back with his claws. Ivan howled and moved to face him-only for Jackson’s claws to stab into his thigh. The two of them moved carefully around Ivan, using their smaller size and greater speed to try and keep him off balance.

            Even so the Alpha was holding his own. For every cut they put on him another healed. Even fighting together they simply couldn’t hurt him enough to overcome the power of an Alpha. Ivan was having no trouble hurting them-Ethan and Jackson both sported at least a dozen cuts and scrapes, none of which were healing-the disadvantage of fighting an Alpha.

            Ivan ducked a shot from Ethan aimed at his eyes, and kicked Jackson in the stomach. He stumbled back struggling for breath. Ivan smirked. “Pathetic.”

            Ethan snarled and somersaulted between his legs jabbing his claws into the vulnerable tendons as he passed through. He crouched protectively over Jackson and helped him to his feet.

            “I’m okay…” Jackson gasped breathlessly.

            “This isn’t working.” Ethan backed them both another step away from Ivan. “We need to get out of here.”

            “Couldn’t agree more.” Jackson wheezed. “But in the state we’re in we’re not going to out run him.

            Ethan nodded. “So we keep going for his legs.”

            Ivan laughed and rushed them. Ethan spun sideways and attempted to kick back Ivan’s knee, but the Alpha was too fast for him. Ivan brought his knee up into Ethan’s chin, stunning him momentarily. As Ethan struggled to his feet Ivan aimed a strike from his claws at Ethan’s head ready to finish him off. He grinned. “Always hated you-“

            Jackson jumped in front of his claws, catching the full force of the Alpha’s strike on his right arm. There was a sickening snap, and Jackson could see bone.

            “GAH!” Jackson howled in pain and clutched his mangled arm.

            Ivan grabbed Jackson by his shirt and hurled the smaller boy back several feet. Jackson struggled to land safely, but felt his right ankle turn badly. He collapsed with gasp of pain. Ivan laughed and turned his attention back to Ethan.

            Jackson struggled to pull himself up. His ankle throbbed painfully, and already seemed to be swelling up. He couldn’t put much weight on it but it didn’t seem to be broken. He looked back to the fight anxiously. Ivan’s full attention was on Ethan now. Ethan was wasn’t taking any hits yet, but he being forced to cede more and more ground to the Alpha’s advance putting him dangerously close to the edge of the ravine. Jackson started forward desperate to help. His first step was almost his last, his leg buckling when he tried to move too quickly. Jackson hobbled forward, seemingly completely forgotten by Ivan. And really what could Jackson do? He could barely stand much less fight. He was maybe five feet away from Ethan now, but for all he was able to do for him it might as well have been five hundred.

            He took a bad step and fell face first onto the grass. Jackson swore, and fought to stand back up. Ethan was really on the ropes now. Ivan had managed to cut his side, and Jackson could tell it was slowing Ethan down. Ivan was driving Ethan closer and closer to the edge of the ravine, laughing all the while. Jackson dug down deep, desperately searching for some last reserve of strength, one finally burst of adrenaline he could use. Just when he thought everything was hopeless he felt something start to shift inside him. He didn’t know how else to describe it. Desperate to reach Ivan, to stop him, he went for it-whatever it was.

            Quick as could be, something shot out and coiled around the Alpha’s neck squeezing it tight. Ivan gasped, his surprise mirrored in Ethan’s face, and Jackson’s own when he realized what had happened. He’d sprouted a tail. And not just any tail-Jackson would recognize the scaly green anywhere. He’d never been so happy to be part Kanima.

            Jackson reached out experimentally finding the tail as easy to control as he would his arm. He pulled forcefully dragging the Alpha back and away from Ethan. Ivan turned to Jackson his surprise quickly becoming anger.

            “What kind of freak are you?“

            Jackson’s hands seemed to tingle. He spared them a quick glance puzzled. His fingers and claws looked the same as they always did. But then a sudden though occurred to him. Jackson grinned.

            Ivan raised his foot, prepared to kick Jackson in the head. “Don’t know why your smiling kid when you’re about to be-“

            With the last of his strength Jackson threw his body forward and jabbed his claws into the bare flash of the Alpha’s ankle just above his shoe. Ivan starred at him baffled. Jackson wondered briefly if he’d been wrong, but then no-the muscles in Ivan’s body slowly went lax and the Alpha collapsed helplessly onto the ground. Jackson sighed happily and fell back onto the ground himself. He could feel the tail disappearing back into his body.

            Ethan ran forward and helped him up, before pulling him into to a hug.

            “Ah-watch the arm.” Jackson winced painfully.

            “Sorry-just” Ethan shook his head and kissed Jackson. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

            Jackson grinned. “Well I’ve been better. But I’m glad you’re okay too.”

            They both starred down at Ivan, his face a mask of mounting panic.

            “Hey Jackson?”

            “Mm?

            Ethan laughed softly. “You have a tail?”

            “Apparently I have a tail.”

***

            A few days later they were still recovering from the fight. The cuts and bruises had disappeared fast enough, but Jackson’s arm had taken a little longer to heal. With Ivan subdued by the Kanima venom, Arthur had been able to formally arrest him, the girl he had tried to turn being providing enough damning evidence against the Alpha. Ivan would be locked up for awhile, though with his strength as a werewolf none of them expected him to remain behind bars for very long.

            In the meantime Jackson had been practicing with his newly discovered tail. Jackson found that if he concentrated he could bring it out easily enough. Even so it was different from shifting as a wolf. He’d finally decided to call Simon, the emissary for Victoria’s pack, who’d helped him discover his dual nature in the first place for some more answers.

            “I don’t know-I guess the best analogy I can think of is like a detour for a road…” Simon said, his voice cracking slightly over the phone.

            “What?” Jackson frowned. “How does that make any sense?”

            Simon sighed. “It’s like this-a werewolf is a shapeshifter right? So when you first got the bite your body gained the ability to shift. Now you were supposed to become a werewolf but for whatever reason that got blocked off-“

            Jackson felt a small pang guilt. He remembered all too well how that had happened. Still he’d come to terms with it. He had to remind himself he hadn’t been in control for all the killing. That had been Matt. And Gerard.

            “-and you became a Kanima.” Simon continued. “Kind of like a detour from the main road, in this case being a werewolf. Now once you worked out whatever had caused you to become a Kanima and became a proper werewolf you were back on the main road so to speak-but just like a driver might, your body still remembers the detour. So with a little effort-“

            “I can shift gears and become a Kanima instead of fully wolfing out.” Jackson finished.

            “Exactly!” Simon sounded quite proud, of what to Jackson was still a pretty terrible metaphor. “Though I doubt you’d be able to actually shift into a full Kanima.”

            “Thank Simon.”

            Over time, Jackson got better and better at shifting his tail and bringing out the Kanima venom, practicing whenever he could around the apartment much to Ethan’s annoyance.

            “You know you still have arms and legs right?” Ethan sighed as Jackson used his tail to grab a drink from the fridge without getting up off the couch. “The tail’s just-kinda gross.”

            “Oh really?” Jackson grinned and brought the tail around to poke Ethan teasingly. “You didn’t seem to mind it when it helped save your butt against Ivan.”

            Ethan laughed and shoved the tail away. “It was still gross. Though I’ll admit a little bad ass.”

            Jackson smiled and kissed Ethan, pulling his boyfriend towards him with his hands and not his tail. “I guess I’ll take it.”

            “Mm… ” Ethan chuckled.

            “Yeah.” Jackson sighed dramatically, grinning the whole time. “Although a better boyfriend would love it.”

            Ethan rolled his eyes. “Can I love it because it’s part of you and still find it gross?”

            “I suppose.” Jackson laughed. “You really don’t like lizards do you?”

            “I like one.” Ethan smirked. “Love him in fact.”

            “Oh yeah?” Jackson asked.

            Ethan kissed Jackson again. “Yeah.”

            Jackson smiled. “I love you too.”


End file.
